Union claims unfair labor practices against GE Transportation

The union at GE Transportation fired back Friday, filing an unfair labor practices charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.

Scott Duke, president of Local 506 of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers, suggests the seeds of those actions were sown months ago when union workers were led to believe that a new plant in Fort Worth, Texas, was an overflow facility.

A few months later, he said, the company has "flipped the script."

GE Transportation said April 9 that an increasingly competitive environment and concerns about productivity at the Lawrence Park plant led to an announcement that the company planned to eliminate 950 jobs in Erie and move that work elsewhere.

Even before that announcement, the union's complaint claims, the company removed work from its Lawrence Park plant without providing written notice and the opportunity for the union to bargain.

The charge of unfair labor practices comes as GE Transportation and its union workforce are in the midst of a 60-day decision bargaining process aimed at reducing the number of job losses.

The charge filed with the NLRB refers to jobs lost in late 2012 and early 2013 when the company began production in Fort Worth.

The union said it's asking the NLRB to return that work to Erie and to enter an injunction preventing any further transfer of work from the company's century-old plant.

The UE, which represents about 3,500 workers at the Lawrence Park plant, said the company began transferring off-highway vehicle work to Fort Worth earlier this year as third-shift work was scaled back in Lawrence Park.

Duke suggests in a statement that the lawsuit should not be seen as a shot across the bow.

"Even though federal law requires that we take this step at this time in order to protect the legal rights of our members, the union remains committed to the current decision bargaining process," he said.

The union noted that federal law requires that charges related to the improper transfer of work must be filed within six months.

Although the NLRB complaint was filed Friday, Duke said the union has been pursuing these issues for months through the union grievance process.

Jennifer Erickson, a spokeswoman for GE Transportation, addressed the complaint in a statement Friday.

"The union charges, as described in its news release, are without merit, and we plan to vigorously defend ourselves," she said. "Our focus remains on the decision bargaining process, and we will continue working with the union to achieve productive and cooperative bargaining sessions."

Like the company, Duke has said repeatedly that the union is committed to the bargaining process.

It's worth noting that the charge was not filed directly by the union local, which has its headquarters on Main Street in Lawrence Park. Instead, the complaint was filed by the Pittsburgh headquarters of the United Electrical Workers.

Gene Elk, an international union representative quoted Friday in a union newsletter, indicated that the process ahead could be difficult.

By transferring work before the bargaining process, "GE has acted in bad faith, and the premature transfer has made it impossible to bargain in good faith," he said.